Your Personal Independence Day

Over the last week or so in preparation for Independence Day, flags and bunting have popped up all over the town where I live. They hang from windows, doors, and fences and line lawns and gardens. On the fourth, the parade will march down Main Street that will be crowded with people wearing red, white and blue, and waving flags. We’re proud of the fact that our ancestors broke away from a country they felt was oppressing them.

We Americans also love our personal independence. Many of us don’t like to rely on others, whether because of our personality or because we’ve been hurt in the past and don’t want to risk pain again. A case in point: Frank Sinatra’s hit song My Way spent a record seventy-five weeks on the Top 40 list. Ironically, in his later years Frank grew to dislike the song, calling it “self-serving and self-indulgent.”

But personal independence isn’t always a bad thing. Thanks to Jesus’ death on the cross and subsequent resurrection we have been given our freedom (independence) from sin. As children of God, sin no longer has a hold on us. Ironically, we receive our freedom from sin through our dependence on him. I’m convinced God loves that aspect of his relationship with us. As our loving Father, he wants to provide for us, protect us, and help us solve problems. He wants to be part of our everyday life – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Sometimes, I think he prefers the ugly times because that’s when we’re more apt to turn to him. “…no god is like ours, he rides across the skies to come and help us. The eternal God is our hiding place, he carries us in his arms…” (Deuteronomy 33:26 & 27)

During your July 4th celebration consider taking some time to thank God for your personal independence day.
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“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free…” Galatians 5:1

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Linda Shenton Matchett

With a BA in Psychology and Masters in Human Resource Management, Linda Matchett has had a wide and varied career as a crisis counselor, HR generalist, B&B owner and youth center director. She is currently the Front of House, Snackbar & Catering Manager at Brewster Academy. A journalist and blogger, she has written for numerous online and print publications. An author of Christian contemporary and historical fiction, Linda is also a a motivational speaker. Available topics include Life on the (WWII) Home Front, Wartime Baking, Women in the (WWII) Workforce, The Writer’s Life, God in the Workplace, The Proverbs 31 Gal: The Woman We Love to Hate, and Ruth: Lessons from a Foreigner. Linda is a member of First Baptist Church Wolfeboro where she sings in the choir and serves as Church Treasurer and a member of the Fellowship Team.